Automobile door latch



May 25, 1954 w. G. cRocKET-r, JR

AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH Filed Allg. 19, 1950 4 M. m .r Xlm 1. m

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Patented May 25, 1954 UNITED S TAT ES @ATEN T OF F I CE AUTOMOBILE DOGRLATCH william c. cracked, Jr., Westlake, ohio Application August 19,1950, SerialNo. 180,490

-1 Claim.

'The present invention :relates lto :a latch :designed for latching adoor to th'eb'odyfoi anrautomobile. In ordinary door latches `whichsimply `prevent the door from lspringing open, fthe rdoor Voften comesopen when the 4automobile becomes involved 'in an accident. One of thereasons for this is that the heavy force of a `person :against the doorwill bend it, 'thus permitting the 4door lock to disengage. iMany times,also, the post of the car set between lthe front and 'backdoors may `bepried laway from one vof the -doors so .that the ordinary door lock willdisengage the lock and allow the door to lspring open.

Therefore, one of lthe objects of the 'present in- Vention is to provide:a latch which 'will prevent the edge of the door from becoming pulledaway vfrom `the car body.

Another object of the invention is to provide a door latch which has anoutwardly extending member terminating in an upturned end and anoutwardly extending portion with fa Adownturned end wherein the membersand ends have dimensions permitting movement lof the door and the bodyrelative -to each other when the door is closed while possessingunimpaired holding power when sudden shock vibration is exerted againstthe door and the body.

Another object of the vinvention is to provide a door latch which may beused in conjunction -wifth the :standard door 'lock "to :safely hold the.door closed against the .automobile ,b ody.

Another object of the invention 'is to provide a door latch which willprevent the door from .becoming separated from .the body so that the`door `may spring open.

Another .object of the invention is to .provizle an inexpensive safety:lock for an automobile door which does not .require any separatehandles or other mechanism.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of this invention may be had byreferring to the following description and claim, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a top view of the latch mounted on the car door andbody with the door and body illustrated in phantom;

Figure 2 is a sectional view along the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line 3-3 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view along the line 4 4 of Figure 2.

The door latch illustrated herein has one part mounted on the body I ofan automobile and ber IIB is in a vertical plane.

the other part mounted xon the door II lof the automobile. In thedrawings, the 'body and the Adoor have been illustrated in phantom linessince they may be `from yany automobile. The body I"0 may also be thecenter post between the `f-ront and rear doors on an automobile. The'part of the latch which is secured to the r-body -or center -post I0 isdesignated Vby the reference character I3, and the part which is'fastened and secured to the -edge of the door I'I is ydesignated by-the reference Vcharacter I 4. The :drawings 'illustrate the parts inposition when the ldoor has 'been Aswung shut into the 'body fI-0 so'that 'the door Aextends generally in the lplane of 'the body 1I0 withthe body part I3 of the 'latch `on the edge vof the body and the #door4part I4 of the latch on the edge of ythe door.

The body 4part I3 comprises a rst vertical member *I6 having a forwardedge II and a rearward edge I8. The forward edge I'I would be that edgenearest the outside surface of the automobile. The vertical member I6may be fastened to the car body by screws I9 or other suitable means.Extending outwardly from this rst `vertical member H5 is a iirst portion20 which terminates in an upturned end `2I.

in describing the present invention, the automobile door and lbod-y havearbitrarily been positioned in a vertical plane so that the rst mem- 20Iextends substantially transversely of that vertical `plane vor nearlyin a horizontal plane. When the door Vand body are `mounted in operablerelationship the first portion extends in a (slightly upward directionrelative to 4the horizontal with the rst portion being at the highesteleva-tion nearest the rearward edge 'I 8 of the first vertical memberi6 and at the lowest eleva-tion nearest Athe `forward edge I vof thehrst vertical member I6. IThis provides a sloping track 22 extendingsomewhat transversely -of the first vertical 4member 'I5 ffrom theforward edge I7 to the lrearward edge 'I8 thereof.

The upturned end 2| is spaced further from the vertical member I6 at theforward edge than at the rearward edge thereby providing a wedgeshapedslot between the upturned end 2| and the first vertical member I6.

A second vertical member 25 is adapted to be attached to the door inalignment with the first vertical member, the second vertical member 25being a part of the door mechanism part I4. This second vertical member25 may be fastened to the edge of the door by screws 26 or othersuitable means. The second vertical member is also The iirst -portion Iprovided with a forward edge 21 and a rearward edge 28. A rider portion29 extends outwardly from this second vertical member 25 and terminatesin a downturned end 30. The rider portion 29 and the downturned end 30are shaped to cooperate with the first portion 20 and the upturned end2| of the body part I3. In other Words, the body part I3 and the doorpart I4 have complementary overlapping and interlocking portions whichmay be the upturned end 2l and the downturned end 30. The downturned end30 is spaced further from the second vertical member 25 at the forwardedge 21 than at the rearward edge 28 and is also spaced from the secondvertical member 25 a distance greater than the thickness of the upturnedend 2I of the rst vertical member I6. Likewise, the upturned end 2I isspaced a distance from the first vertical member I6 greater thandownturned end 30 so that the ends 2| and 30 may be slid intocomplementary overlapping relationship when the door is closed againstthe body. The rider portion also extends in a slightly downwarddirection relative to the horizontal with the rider portion being at thehighest elevation nearest the forward edge of the second verticalmember. rhe rider portion is at the lowest elevation nearest therearward edge of the second vertical member.

When the door is shut against the car body, the sloping of theseportions on the rst vertical member I6 and the second vertical member 25permits the portions to take up any sag due to wearing of the hinges onthe automobile door and thus the latch serves as a stabilizer. A springbacked vibration dampener 3l mounted on the first vertical member I6pushes the rider portion 28 downwardly against the first portion 20 orthe upturned end 2I to prevent rattling. The anti-rattler 3| may be ofany standard design commonly used in door locks.

The present invention prevents edgewise mov ing of the door on the bodyaway from the edge of the door or the edge of the body while the door IIis maintained in the pla-ne of the body IIJ. Any force which wouldattempt to snap the door away from the edge of the body I would simplybe overcome by the complementary overlapping of the upturned end 2l andthe downturned end 30. The door lock 32 illustrated in phantom in thedrawings prevents the door II swinging or moving out of the body I0.This door lock 32 may be of any standard construction commonly used inpresent day automobile designs. The upturned and downturned ends 2l and30 interlock the door II and the body I0 when the door II is closed intothe general plane of the body I0 to move the forward edge 21 of thesecond vertical member 25 past the forward edge I1 of the first verticalmember I6 and towards the rear edge I8 of the first vertical member I6.

Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with acertain degree of parthe thickness of the ticularity, it is understoodthat the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only byway of example and that numerous changes in the details of constructionand the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafterclaimed.

I claim:

A latch for holding adoor to a body comprising, a vertical first memberhaving a forward edge and a rearward edge, a rst portion extendingoutwardly from the rst member and terminating in an upturned end, saidupturned end having a top edge and being spaced further from said rstmember at the forward edge than at the rearward edge, said upturned endbeing spaced further from said rst member at its ntersection with saidfirst portion than at its top edge, said first portion extending in aslightly upward direction relative to the horizontal with the iirstportion being at the highest elevation nearest the rearward edge of thefirst member, a vertical second member attached to the door in alignmentwith the first member and having a forward edge and rearward edge, arider portion extending outwardly from the second member and terminatingin a downturned end, having a bottom edge, said downturned end beingspaced further from said second member at its intersection with saidrider portion than at its bottom edge, said downturned end being spacedfurther from the second member at the forward edge thereof than at therearward edge thereof and being spaced from the second member a distancegreater than the thickness of the said upturned end, said rider portionextending in a slightly downward direction relative to the horizontalwith the rider portion being at the highest elevation nearest theforward edge of the second member, and a resiliently backed pusher onsaid first member urging said rider portion and downturned enddownwardly towards said rst portion and said upturned end when the dooris closed, said downturned end having a thickness less than the spacingof the upturned end from the rst member and being spaced from the firstmember, thereby permitting movement of the door and body relative toeach other when the door is closed.

References Cited in the le of this patent, UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 915,873 Mosher Mar. 23, 1909 1,192,733 Bennett July 25, 19161,878,248 Moore Sept. 20, 1932 2,100,591 Haberstump Nov, 30, 19372,499,165 Roethel Feb. 28, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date380,6-60 France Oct. 14, 1907 656,522 France Jan. 2, 1929

